


"You make it rain, but I make it shower."

by torifrazer



Category: The Hobbit RPF
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Kid Fic, M/M, Slow Build, Tags Are Hard, aidan's a dad, dean helps out a lot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-01
Updated: 2017-01-04
Packaged: 2018-09-03 16:12:32
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,195
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8720314
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/torifrazer/pseuds/torifrazer
Summary: Aidan's really not prepared for all of this. Filming a franchise is hard enough on it's own, but then he's suddenly stranded with a baby, his baby, and he has to make this work.Good for him that Dean's there to help out, maybe a little more than expected and maybe this is what Aidan needed all along.





	1. Two weeks earlier...

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, guys!  
> So, I hope, you guys like whatever this is gonna be & I'd be really happy, if you could give me some of your opinions? But before you do that, just lean back, make yourself some tea and enjoy :)

## Chapter 1: Two weeks earlier...

„Hey, Aidan, you alright?“  
A certain, blond kiwi plopped down into the chair next to him with a heavy sigh and leaned back, eyes closing for a brief moment. He was still in full costume, leather creaking as he shifted to get more comfortable, but it was a lost battle. The chair wasn't made for sitting in it in full dwarven-armor.  
„Yeah. Just tired, 's all.“, Aidan answered, tugging his leg closer when the woman, who was currently removing his make-up, almost tripped over it. He sent her an apologetic smile.  
Dean had opened one eye to lazily study him. „You disappeared rather quickly, thought something was wrong. Wanna hang out with the others later? They talked about heading to a pub or something.“  
„Who did?“  
„James, Stephen and maybe Richard and Martin, I think.“  
„In the middle of the week?“  
„We don't start until eleven tomorrow.“, Dean shrugged and did a weird body roll to stop the collar of his armor from strangeling him. It didn't quite work out, but it seemed to be better than before, because he didn't try again.  
„Nah, thanks for the offer. I'll call it a night earlier today.“, Aidan sighed, tiredly scrubbing over his face when he was sure he wouldn't be in the way of the hands now working on undoing his hair. „Are you going?“  


„Nope.“, Dean let the 'p' plop out of his mouth and grinned at his friend. „I actually had plans to hang out with you. C'mon, just a movie or something.“  
Aidan couldn't deny that this sounded rather relaxing and some quiet time with the man, who quickly had become one of his best friends, wasn't a bad idea.  
„Okay, sure. Meet you at my trailer when we are all done? Around half past nine?“  
„Great.“, the blond pushed himself out of the chair ungracefully and slapped Aidan's tshirt-covered shoulder. „See ya then.“  
As soon as Dean had left the room, Aidan melted back into the backrest, eyes closing in the process, because holy shit, this wouldn't be just one movie. Last time Dean had made him watch all Star Wars movies and the promise of Star Trek being next was now ghosting through Aidan's tired mind.  


~ * ~

Dean's smile was almost breathtaking, when Aidan stepped aside to let him in and closed the door afterwards.  
„Thought I'd bring some snacks.“, the kiwi held up two bags of doritos and started to shrug out of his jacket. Aidan hadn't really bothered with cleaning up for his co-star, so it didn't seem wrong to just place the jacket on top of the clothes hanging over one of the bar stools. None of them really minded the mess, sure Aidan had been embarrassed the first few times this had happened, but it was remarkably him after all and Dean wouldn't want it any other way. Just like Aidan wouldn't stop Dean from coming over and having long, not at all refreshing movie nights, he certainly didn't sign up for in the first place.  
„I hope, you didn't want to have some beer or something, because the only thing I have in my fridge right now is coke and water.“, Aidan pulled a grimace at how empty his fridge was, when he took a quick look inside. „Oh, I might have some tea somewhere.“  
„Water's fine.“  


Dean was already making himself comfortable on the rather small couch, the dorito bags were now laying on the coffee table in front of him and he had already ripped one of them open.  
The Irishman dropped down next to him, handing one of the water bottles in his hand over. „Can't believe you are making me do this. Peter's gonna kill me, if I'm not able to fit in my costume anymore.“ He used his free hand to pet his own stomach. „I'm not doing this bloody ass diet for nothing.“  
„You are fine. There's not a pudge of fat on you, buddy.“, Dean rolled his eyes and nudged him with his elbow. „And even if...Kili could definitely rock this.“  
The weird wiggle he did with his eyebrows sent them both into a laughing fit and by them Aidan had wiped the tears from his eyes, the first Star Trek movie was already.  
„I thought I'd ease you into this, so this is the one from 2009. The old ones are good too, but you need a lot of patience to get through them.“  


„How many are there?“, Aidan yawned, scooting down and spreading his legs a little to help relax his poor, overworked body. They had been doing some of the rougher scenes over the past few days and he was feeling parts of his body he hadn't known one could actually feel them.  
„With the three new ones since 2009, they are at thirteen.“  
„Oh, hell, nah. 'm not gonna watch thirteen movies tonight.“  
Dean rolled his eyes, but his grin let the other male know that he had already assumed that.  
Uncapping the bottle of water, the blond shifted a little to get more comfortable and they ended up with Aidan's legs dangling over his own and Aidan's ass pressing into his hip. It wasn't exactly a dream position, but the couch didn't give much room to work with and somehow they always seemed to tangle into eachother while watching movies anyways. The only noises filling the room were the movie itself, the crackling of the dorito bags and the soft noise of clothes rubbing against eachother when one of them shifted.  
None of them had dressed up in any way, both were sporting some loose sweatpants and plain t-shirts, hair tied up in a bun in Aidan's case and Dean was wearing soft, thick socks. A usual post-filming evening for them. It was also pretty usual that Aidan drifted off within the first two movies.  


Forcing his eyes open tiredly, his foggy brain needed a few moments to figure out he was on the couch, Dean still next to him and the movie's main menu was rapidly blinking on the tv-display like it had been there for at least an hour or so. Dean was snoring quietly, the light was burning in Aidan's eyes and when the dark-haired man moved, his body reminded him that he really shouldn't be sleeping in random positions on the couch.  
„Dean.“, his voice was rough and he gave the blond man a soft nudge with his foot, while scramblign off the couch in one way or another. It definitely didn't look graceful and his face almost collided with the coffee table. „Dean, c'mon, mate. You gotta lay down properly.“  
His accent was thick in his voice and he nudged him again. The kiwi finally threw himself around to stretch out on the couch as good as possible, too tired to reach for the blanket on the backrest.  
„Gotta be kiddin' me.“, Aidan mumbled with an eye roll and spread the blanket over his friend, before tumbling over to the door, which leaded into a small bedroom. He had barely managed to fit his bed inside of there, three of four sides connected to the walls, which left literally just enough space to undress. If it wasn't for the door being a sliding door, he wouldn't be having one at all.  
Now he didn't bother to close it, dropping into his bed like a stone and he was out like a light as soon as his head hit the pillow.  


~ * ~

„Aidan. Aidan, someone's at the door for you.“  
Dean's voice was the next thing dragging him out of his sleep and for a moment he thought he could just ignore him, but in the end it didn't make much sense to do that. The other male sounded at least as tired as he was and the dawning light coming through the blinds told him it couldn't be that late. So whoever was at the door probably had a good reason for it.  
When Aidan strolled out of the bedroom, more stumbling than actually walking, Dean glanced over the backrest of the couch with half open eyes to watch him open the door. It took the younger man about three tries to unlock the door and pull it open, shivering at the cool air he was immediatly exposed to.  


„H-Hello, I'm so sorry to disturb you, but this seemed to be pretty urgent.“  
In front of him was Gretchen, Melissa's daughter, who was taking care of the trailer park alongside her mother, whenever the men were out filming or doing something else. Fans tended to sneak in or crazy people thinking this was a camping place, something was always going on that needed the attention of the two women.  
„Gretchen.“, Aidan greeted surprised, but still only half awake. „What's up? Did somethin' happen'?“ He leaned against the door frame, his gaze wandering over her body. Her hair was up in a bun and she was dressed only in her pyjamas and a bathrob, her feet stuck in thick boots. A frown appeared on his face the exact moment he noticed what was standing right next to her on the ground, one of her hand tightly wrapped around the grip. „Is that...?“  
„A maxi cosi, yes. I'm really sorry, Aidan, I tried to talk to her or figure out who she was, but there was no way to stop her from leaving and-“  
„Gretchen, calm down. For fuck's sake what's goin' on?“, Aidan stared at her in confusion, tired annoyance making an appearance as well.  


Before he could react, Gretchen had lifted the maxi cosi up and had pushed it into his arms, stepping back, so he hold on out of reflex. „You shouldn't be using that kinda language in front of your kid.“  
If the situation hadn't been that serious, Gretchen would probably had laughed at Aidan's face, but the poor guy looked like he was about to have a heart attack. His face was as pale as his white shirt and his dark, wide eyes were staring down at the kid, half-hidden under a blanket and clearly asleep.  
„No, it's really to early for jokes like this.“, Aidan tried in a moment of desperation, holding the carrier out to the girl in front of him. „Take it back.“  
„I'm not kidding, Aidan. One of the documents she left is a DNA-test.“  
„But what does this-“  
„Congrats. You are a dad.“  



	2. We're all in this together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aidan's starting to settle down and is getting nothing but support from all sides.

„Yes, mum, we'll be fine. Text me when you get back, yes. Love you, see you soon.“  
As soon as Aidan had hung up on the phone he wanted to call her back and ask her to stay for a few more days. Or weeks even. The last two weeks had been horrible for him and his mum had taken the first flight to New Zealand to come and help him out with the baby, when she had heard the news. But who hadn't? It was like the biggest topic on set still and Aidan was surprised how everything had worked out.   
Peter had been really understanding and had tried to fix Aidan's schedule up as good as possible, so he didn't have to stay too long or come too early and could still do all his scenes, while one of the crewmembers was watching the little kid for him. Nobody was annoyed, or at least nobody showed it, about the constant crying they had to face until the baby had warmed up to Aidan enough to be around him or someone else without being asleep.   
Turned out it was a little girl, 9 months and four days old, handed over to Gretchen in a maxi cosi and with all the important paper work. Her health insurance, her birth certificate, a list of her last doctor appointments, everything had been there and when his mum had sorted all of the documents, he had some kind of a plan what meant which and what was important for what. He also knew how to change diapers now, how to make bottles, how to dress and undress properly, how to put the maxi cosi in his car and out of it and how to generally survive with a baby around, because that had been the biggest issue. As soon as Gretchen had congratulated him, Aidan had fainted right away and it had seemed to take ages to get him back into a halfway presentable state, so he could skype up his parents in Ireland. They had thought he was joking for about half of the conversation.   
His mother had immediatly offered to take the little girl to Ireland and raise her, but somehow Aidan couldn't bring himself to let her. It was his kid after all and his parents deserved their own life now after all they had done for him already. Also his daughter had already been taking away from her mother and he really couldn't stand it to do that to her again.   
As it turned out, her mother (a girl Aidan had apparently slept with on a party he could barely remember) was being charged for several small crimes and wouldn't be granted the rights to raise her daughter for a quite a while. The next option had been Aidan.   


The latter was now rounding the kitchen counter, only wearing sweatpants and a zip-up hoodie, to get himself a glass of water. It was around eight in the evening and the baby was already safely packed away in her crib for about two hours. With a soft sigh, Aidan picked up the small baby monitor and studied his sleeping daughter for a moment, before placing it back down and moving his hand to ruffle at his hair. She was wriggling around and would certainly start whining in a few moments.  
Dean stepped into the kitchen from the hallway. „You should go get some sleep.“  
A few days after she had been given to him, he had rented out an apartment not far away from the film-set and had moved into it. It was rather big and had large windows covering one front of the living room. He had his own bedroom, his daughter had a room and there was even a spare bedroom, which was more often than not occupied by nobody else than Dean himself.   
Without him Aidan would surely have not been able to tell his parents, ask for help or kept the baby at all. Hell, it had taken him almost a day to touch her. But Dean was so easy with her, carrying her around, helping Aidan fix up her bedroom and entertaining him whenever he and Aidan didn't have to be in one scene together. The man was a blessing.   
„I'm not tired.“, Aidan looked up from the glass of water, he was turning in his hands and a sad smile turned Dean's lips upwards as he studied his friend. He now had bags under his eyes, darker than before, he looked way more tired overall than Dean had ever seen him before and his shoulders were slacking like the world was resting on them. „You really don't have to stay, Dean. 'm gonna be fine.“  


„Someone has to replace your mum, hm?“, Dean grinned and pulled him in for a moment, before he turned to the open living room space. „How about we check out the TV's bringing on today?“  
„Yeah, sure, let me just go and check on her for a second.“, Aidan was already out in the hallway and up the few stairs, before Dean could answer. The blond heard the baby start making unpleased noises right at the moment Aidan opened the door to her room upstairs. The steps quietend out and then he could hear the younger man's voice softly over the baby monitor.   
_„Hey, Maeve, princess, you alright?...Lost your nummy again, huh?...Wait, let me-...yeah, see, tha's better, right?“_   
His voice was lowered, his accent thicker than usual and a few more words were mumbled, before the steps returned and the door was closed. Dean turned to the TV, when he heard him coming down the hallway, so he wouldn't be able to tell that he had been listening. If there was one thing Aidan hated more than asking for help, it was being watched or listened to, while he was 'daddying'. That had quickly been obvious.   


Dean turned to look over his shoulder. „Law  & Order, alright?“  
The younger man nodded, halfway buried inside of the fridge to get out something to drink for them. A cold water bottle was held against the blond's neck a few moments later and the noise leaving his throat was almost a squeal. „Geez, Aidan, you ass!“  
The answer was a throaty laugh and Aidan dropped down on the couch next to him, wiggling around until he was comfortable enough for his liking. Which was half on top of Dean.  
„Gotta go grocery shopping tomorrow.“, Aidan rumbled next to him after a while, his thumb working the display of his phone to add things to his shopping list. „Martin said he has to go too, wanna join? Probably before lunch.“  
„I'm filming with Richard from 9 to 1, sorry.“  
„Hm.“, Aidan clearly wasn't happy, but kept adding to his list quietly for a few moments before he spoke up again. „Since you are somehow a member of the household, is there anything you need?“  
„Proper bread. You might be able to live of toast, but I'm worried about my body, man.“  
Aidan rolled his eyes, but laughed. „Yeah, sure, alright. Anything else?“  
„What do you have already?“  
They quickly went through the whole list, adding and removing stuff until they were both satisfied with the outcome. Most of the stuff was for Maeve anyways.  
After saving the list, Aidan packed his phone away and turned his face back towards the TV, but his attention was on Dean. The kiwi was comfortably tucked into the corner of the couch with Aidan's legs over his own, one arm over the backrest and his other resting atop their legs, while kinda holding onto Aidan's shin. A smile was playing around his lips, like it always did, and the soft light of the lamp in the corner of the room made him look younger. Not that he was old in any way.  


„Let's head to bed, hm?“  
Dean's voice pulled him out of the haze he had been in for the past half an hour and a look at the clock assured him that it was way past the time they should have gone to sleep. So Dean probably drifted all as well, because otherwise there was no way any of them would have stayed here until 1:45am.  
„'m just gonna throw the bottles away and turn everythin' off.“, Aidan yawned, while grabbing the remote and rolling off the couch. The other male nodded and patted his shoulder, then leaving the room and disappearing into the bathroom across the hallway.   
Almost stepping into Maeve's playrug, Aidan managed to get to the kitchen, where he threw the empty bottles away and then turned off the TV, followed by all the lights. The door closed quietly behind him when he shuffled out of the room. He had no idea how long he had taken, but Dean had already finished in the bathroom and was in the guestroom.   
Aidan could see the light being turned off and decided he didn't have the nerves to go brush his teeth now, a few extra minutes in the morning would do the job as well.   
He was asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.   


~ * ~

„Mornin', gents.“, Aidan grinned at the two men in front of his apartment door. He had expected it to be just Martin, but Luke seemed to be joining them as well. „Gimme a few minutes, gotta put on shoes.“  
Luke immediatly stepped inside, looking around. „Where's the little princess?“  
If anyone was obsessed with Maeve besides Dean, it was most certainly Luke Evans. He was constantly cooing over her and was the first to hold her, no matter what time Aidan arrived with her on set.   
„Living room. I just need to-“  
„I'll go and pick her up. You finish whatever you need to do.“  
And the man was gone within a second, leaving Martin and Aidan behind. Martin raised his eyebrows and rolled his eyes, then let his lips twitch into a little smile.   
„How are you doing?“  
„Good, thanks.“, Aidan's voice sounded a bit hollow, because he was bend over himself to tie his boots up, but otherwise he looked a lot better than in the first few days. When he came back up, he grinned at the older man and then grabbed the diaper-bag from the shelf next to the door. He wouldn't need it, but his mum had taught him to better be safe than sorry. Kids were unpredictable.   
Right as he was about to call for Luke, the man rounded the corner with the baby girl tucked in one of his arms. She was tugging at one of earlobes, while he was fixing up her hairband. Her hair was slightly lighter colored than Aidan's, but her eyes were the exact same as his and her face came strongly after him as well with the oval form and slim nose.  
„We can take my car.“, Aidan said, rather unnecessary because the maxi cosi was already buckled into it. Dean had done that before he left in the morning.   
„You are growing so responsible, Turner.“, Martin teased, while they were heading out of the house and into the small parking lot, where the car was parked. It wasn't exactly a family car, but it was big and safe enough to pass. Luke buckled Maeve into her seat and took the passenger side, while Martin was stuck on the backseat next to the little girl, which clearly wasn't happy to be put down.   
Already backing out of the parking lot, Aidan reached behind himself with one hand and rummaged blindly through the bag on the floor, until he managed to grab a hold of a bottle. It was basically just some apple juice with water, but it did the job and Maeve calmed herself a bit, more sucking than actually drinking.   
„I forgot her nummy.“, Aidan groaned quietly, eyes fixed on the road.   
Martin's eye twitched. „We noticed. And if you ever let go of the steering wheel again like that with your daughter in the car, I'm gonna drive my car into yours to teach you a lesson.“   


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked it & I'd love to hear what you guys think of it! Or leave some kudos, love y'all :)


	3. About Mum's & Receptionist's

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys, I hope you like the new chapter and I'm sorry it took me a while!  
> I'd love to hear from you and have a good Weekend xxx

„I promised I'd come.“  
„I know, but you really don't have to. I'll be fine.“, Aidan tried, leaning back against the kitchen counter, while watching Dean put his phone and keys into his pockets. „Really, man, I'm totally ready for this.“  
Dean studied him for a few seconds, then shook his head. „I can't take you serious with that look on your face. You look like I'm sending you into that haunted house again, remember?“  
Aidan sighed softly and turned, glad for the distraction, when the bottle warmer made a soft peep-noise behind him. He watched it turn itself off, before he pulled the bottle of milk out and dribbled some milk on the inside of his wrist to test the temperature.  
„Hey, Aidan, I'm serious about this. Pick me up, okay? I'll be done by then.“  
The dark haired man nodded without really looking at Dean and the latter shrugged on his jacket, then left the flat after saying goodbye to Maeve. Dean had a scene to shoot from 10 to 12 and they didn't really need Aidan there until 2, so he had scheduled one of Maeve's doctor's appointment around 12:30. It was the first he would attend without his mum and had somehow managed to bring up the courage to ask Dean to join, but now he wasn't so sure about that decision. Dean's schedule was as tight as his own, leaving almost no time to eat in between takes and now he should be attending a monthly doctor's appointment of a child that wasn't his? It really didn't seem fair to Aidan and he regretted asking in the first place. 

„I'm coming, princess, hang on for a second.“  
He was frantically searching for one of her bibs, pulling drawers open and turning in every direction, while Maeve was in her little booster seat, face red from screaming and whining.  
After a few moments he gave up and decided to go without, not for the first time in the few weeks she had been with him now, settling on the couch and cradling her in the crook of his arm to feed her her bottle. She immediatly quietend down, once and then making soft noises of dissatisfaction when he didn't tilt the bottle properly or moved too much, but mostly she stayed put, while Aidan was going over the script for the scene he had to do later and by the time she had finished up the bottle, she was almost asleep already.  
She didn't care when Aidan carried her to her room and put her down on the changing table, stripping her off her pants to make sleeping more comfortable. A new diaper was also necessary and after he had laid her down, he ran a hand through her soft hair and darkened the room a little bit.  
His phone started ringing right the second he closed the door behind himself and on his way to the kitchen, where he had left it on the kitchen counter, he almost feared it was Dean to cancel on him.  
A smile spread over his face, when he checked who it was. „Hey, Mum.“  
_„Aidan! I thought I might not catch you. Are you shooting right now?“_  
He laughed softly, turning the baby monitor on. „I wouldn't have picked up if I was. What's up?“  
_“It's getting colder now and I wanted to know if Maeve needs some new clothes? A coat maybe? Because they have these really cute coats at H &M right now, they might be on sale still.“_  
„Mum, you don't need to buy her stuff, I can do it. I'm the movie star after all.“, Aidan rolled his eyes and opened the fridge to make some lunch. He'd bring some for Dean along later, so the man got something between his teeth at least.  
_“I know I don't have to, but she's my grandchild after all and what kind of Nana am I, if I don't spoil her a lil'?“_  
„As if I want a spoiled kid.“, Aidan grumbled, grimacing at the content of his fridge. „Alright, you can get her a coat and some warm pants in exchange for a tip what I can make for lunch. I have some potatoes, milk, tomatoes, carrots, beans, I think this is frozen bananas-“, he lifted the small bag in the air to study it. „-yes, it is. I also have some bread, rice, mixed vegetables in cans and some meat leftovers from yesterday. It's gotta be something good, because I owe Dean.“  
_“How's Dean doing? Is he around? Can I talk to him?“_  
He knew he should feel a bit attacked by how excited his mum sounded when talking about Dean, but on the inside he was pretty glad that they got along well. Dean had actually been invited for christmas in Ireland already.  
„No, he's at the set shooting a scene. But he said he'd join us for Maeve's appointment later and he doesn't have much time to get lunch, so I thought I'd bring something along.“  
_“You need to stop dancing around him, Aidan! He's such a nice guy.“_  
„Yes, mum, no. Still not happening. I know you really like him, but he's not gonna be your son-in-law. I'm not into men.“  
_“Yet.“_  
„Mum, stop it.“, Aidan groaned and went through the things in his fridge again. „So? Lunch? Oh, and if you get Maeve some clothes, make sure you get 10-12 months. She's growing.“

~ * ~

„You look like a dad.“  
Aidan turned around to flip James Nesbitt off, but grinned when he received a punch to his arm in response. He was here to pick Dean up from set to go to the doctor's and he hadn't even bothered to take his jacket off, because he knew he'd be leaving again in a few minutes. Maeve was in a baby carrier in front of his chest, his open coat almost covering her up. She still beamed and craned her neck, when James bent down to coo over her.  
„I was just kidding, man, you look great.“, the older man winked at him and then turned to look over his shoulder. „Dean should be out in few minutes. I swear to god, he was worse than Peter today. He really wanted to get this down early, so he could join you.“  
Aidan felt his cheeks grow warm and the blush hadn't really left when Dean finally showed up after a few moments. He was wearing normal pants and a shirt, just shrugging his coat on as he joined them. He still had his Fili-hair and -beard going on, but the hair was tied up into a bun.  
„Since I have to shoot again later on, they decided to just leave it on. Saves some times later.“, he explained and checked his pockets for his phone. „Thanks for waiting, I tried to speed thing up as good as possible.“  
„It's fine. You really could have stayed.“, Aidan held a bag out to him, while they were already walking towards the car. „I made you some food as a reward, or apology, however you want to view it. It's mashed potatoes with mixed vegetables and like self-made meat balls. Hope you like that stuff. I felt bad because you didn't have time to eat yet. But we can stop somewhere and get you something else, if you-“  
„No, Aidan, no, it's totally fine!“, Dean quickly interrupted him and almost ripped the bag out of his hand. „That's really nice of you. Thanks a lot.“  
They had reached the car and while Aidan was buckling Maeve in, Dean already got into the passenger seat and started eating. Aidan had thought about putting a fork into the tuppercase as well.

The receptionist at the doctor's office was a nice young lady and the office itself seemed to be more for the upper-class people. Aidan knew why his mum had chosen it, but he felt rich only walking in.  
„Don't judge me. My mum chose it.“, he whispered to Dean and started filling out some papers, while Dean went over to the play area with Maeve to distract her a little bit.  
„It'll be your turn in a few moments. You can sit down in the meantime. Can I get you and your family something to drink?“  
„Water'll be fine, thanks.“, Aidan mumbled, not sure how to respond otherwise. Yes, Maeve was his family, but Dean being included in that phrase sounded strange to him. Because Dean was his friend. His best friend actually and that made him part of the family, but not in the way the lady had most certainly meant. If she had called him his boyfriend, it would have been easy to protest, but like this?  
So he waited until she came back with two glasses of water to approach her, lowering his voice until he was sure only she was able to hear him. „He's not my boyfriend, you know?“  
„Oh, I'm sorry! I just assumed-..You two looked so-..I'm really sorry!“  
„No big deal.“  
His ears were burning, even though Dean couldn't hear them. It wasn't like he had never thought about it, especially with his mum bringing that topic up all the time, but he was straight. And most important: Dean was straight too.


	4. About Breakdowns & Crappy Dads

The door closed almost silently behind him and he leaned back against it for a moment, closing his eyes and drawing in a deep breath. For a second he didn't feel ready to walk away from the door, didn't feel ready to stand upright by himself and walk back into his room.  
It was about twenty past two in the morning and Maeve wasn't sleeping very well. She had had a bit of a cold the last few days, but it seemed to be getting worse. He just hoped she would be alright again by tomorrow, so he didn't have to call in sick.  
Deciding that he would wait a few more minutes if she was really going back to sleep, he pushed away from her door and crossed the small hallway to turn off the light in his bedroom, before he dragged himself down the stairs. It was completely dark and, now finally, quiet besides the soft humming of the fridge when he entered the kitchen. His gaze ghosted over the open area of the living room and he decided to go for tea instead of coffee in case he'd be allowed a few more hours of sleep.  
It took him a few minutes to figure out which tea he wanted and a few more to actually make it and by the time his ass hit the couch, the baby monitor was already lightening up on the kitchen counter. He could hear his daughter tossing around, something banging against the wood of the crib and the next second the small speaker was filled with soft wailing.  
Closing his eyes he counted to ten, hoping she'd stop, but that wasn't the case and he was forced to place the mug on the couch table, scrambling off the couch when she got louder and louder. 

„'S alright, baby, I'm here, I'm right here.“, he mumbled while opening the door, letting in some light from the hallway. „It's gonna be okay. I'm right here, princess.“  
Her face was scrunched up in a weird grimace, red and wet from screaming her lungs out. Her nummy was somewhere off the side, but she didn't seem to want it anyway and when he carefully picked her up, he pressed his lips against her forehead to check her temperature.  
„Seems like your temperature went up a lil', you're gonna be okay again.“, he said softly, even though he could feel panic rising in his chest. She wasn't burning up or anything, which was good, but it certainly didn't help that she was crying like she was in pain and he had no idea how to help her. „Let's get you a bottle and sit on the couch for a bit, hm? Can't do much, baby princess, I know it sucks.“ His voice was trembling, but nobody was there to hear him. Maeve was too busy screaming and she wouldn't have heard it in a normal condition too and Dean was in his trailer, because he had had some late night shooting to do and had declared he didn't want to wake them when he came back, so he'd spent the night in his trailer. He hadn't been around for a few days. It wasn't weird to have Dean around all the time, if anything it was really helpful and gosh, Aidan had started to understand why his mother wanted them together so bad. Dean was a great guy, certainly had his flaws, but who hadn't and no matter what he was doing, it always seemed to be the right thing. You didn't have to ask him for things, he was just giving them. Staying up with Aidan or starting to switch with him whenever possible. He was watching Maeve like she was his own and, in some weird way Aidan would never be able to explain, she was.

The dark haired man turned off the light in the hallway to keep Maeve from waking up too much, holding her in one arm while he was preparing a bottle. The bottle warmer could have been a bit quieter in his opinion, but he spend the short time brushing his hand over Maeve's hair and rocking her softly. She wasn't crying anymore, but still upset and he watched her with concerned eyes when he had settled them on the couch and she was sucking on her bottle like her life depended on it.  
She didn't go back to sleep and Aidan spend the next few hours holding her in his arms, rocking her and gently talking to her, walking around with her nestled in the crook of his arm while he was sipping his, now cold, tea. She was watching him rather calm sometimes, almost about to drop back to sleep, but she startled herself back awake with a hiccup or a sniff everytime and then the crying began from anew.  
Around half past 5, Aidan had dozed off on the couch, while Maeve was burying her hands in his hair, he got a text message from Dean asking what he wanted for breakfast because he would get him something, so he didn't have to get up earlier to make something and could sleep longer. Aidan sighed softly, adjusting himself so he was able to type and Maeve was trapped between him and the backrest of the couch. He really wouldn't be in the mood to have her fall off the couch.  
_ >>Thanks for the offer, man, but I'm already up and not really hungry. But still thanks.<< _  
He didn't have to wait long for a reply and he wasn't surprised about it at all, he knew how concerned Dean was all the time.  
_ >>Bagels it is then. You need to eat something, especially after a long night. Everything okay? Want me to come over?<< _  
The offer was tempting and he could have a quick ten minute nap in the shower, but in the end he didn't want Dean to deal with Maeve when she was this cranky and it would be stupid since the blond had to drive out here and the get back to the set with them in three hours anyway. So he quickly texted him a simple No and put his phone away, ignoring the next few messages that came in. 

Maeve had fallen quiet next to him and he couldn't stop himself from yawning, eyes drifting shut and-...a small hand splashed into his face when the little girl started wiggling around like she was on fire. With a groan, that almost sounded like a growl, Aidan rolled himself off the couch, pulling her along with him and taking a deep breath when he was standing, so he wouldn't loose his temper. His nerves laid bare and just for a second, he thought he had to throw up. Maybe from getting up too fast or because the tea had been really disgusting as cold as it had been. A shower would definitely help.  
There was no ten minute nap in the shower, because Maeve totally hated being placed in her booster seat in front of the shower, even though she could still see him through the glass, and it was probably the quickest shower Aidan had ever taken, followed by a great record time of getting dressed.  
„Let's see what you are going to wear today, huh, princess?“, he mumbled tiredly, opening her closet with one hand, because he had her placed on his hip. It was getting a bit colder outside, so he decided on thights, thick socks, a onezie without legs, soft blue sweatpants and a black little hoodie to pull over the onezie. He'd put that one on when they were leaving so she wouldn't be sweating now. Her fever hadn't gone up any further.  
As he had texted Dean, he wasn't really hungry himself, but Maeve got some mashed bananas, a few strawberries and another bottle of milk for breakfast and after trying to go over his script for like two hours with her screaming in his arms, it was already time to leave. 

~ * ~

„Don't touch her, she fell asleep five minutes ago and if someone wakes her up, I'm gonna loose it.“, Aidan growled when Luke reached to take her from him. She was in her Maxi Cosi and had fallen asleep on the car ride, literally right when he had pulled into the parking lot of the set. It had taken him ages to remove her from the car without waking her straight back up.  
Luke backed away, eyebrows furrowed as he checked his younger co-worker out. „Is everything alright?“  
„Yeah, sure.“, Aidan almost aggressively yanked off his coat and threw it on the hamper. A second later he realized how childish he was behaving and took a deep breath to calm himself. „I'm sorry, 's not your fault. Hell, it's not her fault either. I'm just a crappy dad.“  
Luke's hand made him flinch, because he had lowered his gaze to the Maxi Cosi and he felt like crying when the older man squeezed his shoulder. „I'm gonna fetch Dean for ya and take the little one with me to Martin and Richard, yeah?“ Aidan had no energy left to resist.

When the door reopened a few minutes later, the dark haired man blindly turned around and buried himself in Dean's arms. The blond was taken aback by the desperation of it, but immediately pulled him in tighter and gently petted his hair. „Hey, hey, it's alright. Look at me.“

Aidan shook his head, coming even closer if this was still possible and his hands were tightly fisted in Dean's shirt. He didn't know himself if he was crying because he was so damn exhausted or because it was all growing over his head or because Dean's embrace was so soothing it almost hurt.  
„Aidan, listen.“, Dean was still holding him tightly, words disappearing in Aidan's dark curls. „You are not a crappy dad, not at all. Maeve loves you so much, you are doing so great.“ Of course, Luke had told him.  
„How long has this been going on, huh?“, Dean didn't have to specify what he meant, it was pretty clear.  
„Few nights.“, Aidan croaked into the other man's shoulder, not being able to count how many nights it had really been. Maeve hadn't been feeling well for a while.  
„Okay, here's what we are going to do.“, Dean pulled back far enough to be able to hold Aidan's face in his hands and forcing him to look at him.“Today's a short day, we'll be done filming by 1 or 2 and we're going to leave Maeve with Luke or Martin or Benedict for a while. I'll take you home, you'll sleep for a few hours and I'll cook something and after we've eaten, I'll go and pick Maeve back up from whoever is watching her, get her ready for bed and put her down to sleep, while you can chill on the couch for a bit. And I'm gonna stay the night again and when she cries, I'm gonna be the one getting up, you hear me? No protesting, no refusing. This is the plan.“  
Aidan felt so relieved for a second that he almost fainted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys liked it & I would love to hear your opinions! :)


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